It seems like a lifetime ago when I cooked the Coq au Vin in an empty house and served it on paper plates. The boxes are still not unpacked, but I've come a long way in clearing off some counter space and digging out the right equipment (stand mixer) for this soufflé recipe.

It is imperative you prepare your mise en place. Grate and measure out that cheese, get a prep dish ready with your spices (I subbed smoked paprika for the regular paprika and it...was...good), have the butter and flour at the ready. Things move fast in Julia's béchamel stage, and you can't stop to separate an egg.

"Soufflé are not difficult when you have mastered the beating of egg whites and the folding of them into the souffle base," Julia writes in her headnote.

If you've never made a soufflé before, please take note: Ha, ha! She's kidding. They are difficult the first time. You will fail, but your failure will be delicious.

While I followed her directions to the letter on the first go of this recipe, the soufflé did not rise. My first attempt, below, was a waste of aluminum foil.

I'd done everything she asked, but I'd failed. I wondered if I'd used the wrong size dish (I hadn't). I doubted my oven (it's old and, I'm learning, runs cold). I'm convinced what did me in was my uncertainty in the folding phase.

I consulted with our resident expert, and she advised me to try using a whisk to slowly fold in the egg whites. I did that on the second attempt. I also transferred the béchamel-yolk mixture to a bigger mixing bowl to give myself more room than that offered by the saucepan.

"You will undoubtedly feel safer hovering over your oven during your first soufflé experiences," Julia writes. "After two or three you'll have the confidence to set the timer and take yourself off until it summons you back into the kitchen."

I hovered on the second go-around. Surprisingly, my fixes did help me to achieve lip liftoff, however slight and uneven.

And here's the thing about a cheese soufflé: it's got cheese in it. A cup of grated Swiss. Don't let looks deter you. It could resemble a browned, lumpy biscuit, and it would still be delicious.

As this will be my last Julia Child recipe in the birthday cooking countdown (only two weeks left to go!), I wanted to share a few of my thoughts about Julia's recipes. While they are in some instances challenging (the folding of egg whites for the soufflé, the long make time of ratatouille), the recipes all have teachable moments.

Don't let difficulty deter you, as it's not really a hard step, it's just a step that's new to you. Like learning to write cursive or drive a car, your muscles aren't ready for the action until you've practiced through repetition. In these recipes and through her TV shows, Julia gives you all the info you need. The rest is up to you.